The Prosumer Movement : a New Challenge For Marketers

Alvin Toffl er (1980), in his book „The Third Wave“, argues that consumers are a phenomenon of the Industrial Age. As society moves toward the Post-Industrial Age, so will the number of pure consumers decline. They will be replaced by „prosumers“, people who produce many of their own goods and services. Although his prosumer theorizing has not attracted much critical comment, his concept is suffi ciently provocative to merit the attention of consumer behavior scholars and marketing practitioners. If Toffl er is right, we might have to retitle the fi eld „prosumer behaviour“ and revise our notions of effective marketing. My purpose is three-fold: fi rst, to describe Toffl er’s prosumer thesis; second, to extend the prosumer concept further; and third, to examine its validity and implications.